Standard drones start sliding on ice after a slope of only nine degrees. Gravity presses less of the aircraft into the surface as the angle rises, so a 60-degree wall leaves just half the usual downward force. Ice Dart, a 2.65-kilogram carbon-fiber quadrotor from Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec, now perches on ice that steep and stays put.
People keep saying the same thing about the Skyrover X1, priced at $699 (was $819), is that it’s a DJI Mini 4 Pro with a different badge. That rumor isn’t just forum gossip because fans have discovered code that still points to DJI cloud services, encryption keys that match DJI software, and FlySafe references that have been awkwardly renamed. The arms fold in the same way. Sensor windows are in the same locations. If you’re looking for a compact travel drone that you can still order in the United States, this might be it.
Most tiny 1S FPV quads promise fun in a pocket-sized package and then land after ten or twelve minutes. Battery weight climbs fast once you chase real flight time, frames snap on the second or third hard landing, and the video link rarely reaches beyond a couple of kilometers. One builder decided those limits were optional.
Researchers at EPFL’s MicroBioRobotic Systems laboratory have built ultralight flying machines that carry no motors, batteries, or electronics. Hollow cavities printed into their structures turn ordinary sound waves into focused jets of air. Those jets provide the thrust that lifts the devices off a surface and keeps them aloft.
You’ve finally splurged and purchased a quality drone, charged the thing, and taken it outside, but gravity and nervousness take over and you watch, in slow motion, hundreds of dollars bounce off the pavement or be pulled up into a tree. It’s a pattern that helps to explain why so many people don’t make it past the first week with their new flying device. That’s where the Veeniix V995 micro drone, priced $33.99 (was $50), comes in, and it’s supposed to break the cycle for you.
HOVERAir just revealed Versa, a camera that lives in two worlds at once. Hold it and you get a compact, three-axis stabilized shooter small enough for a pocket. Snap on a set of protected wings and the same module lifts off, follows you, and films from the air without a controller or any flying skill.
Photo credit: Sarang Sheth
Insta360 keeps filing patents that point straight at the same light, easy-to-carry drones DJI has been selling to casual pilots and creators. The latest one, utility model CN223865117U, describes a compact aircraft with arms that fold completely into the body and a ring-shaped guard around the propellers. Images from the filing, first noticed in mid-July, show a small black chassis stamped with the company logo and a simple locking system that holds the arms open or closed. The entire package is designed to stay under 250 grams, the legal limit that lets many countries skip the more complicated registration rules.
DoorDash spent years watching other companies fly its food. On July 29 the company announced it will now fly the orders itself. DoorDash Air is the new in-house program that received Federal Aviation Administration Part 135 air carrier certification, the same approval that lets a company legally operate commercial drone deliveries across the United States. DoorDash becomes only the eighth operator to clear that bar. The certification followed a five-stage review that checked aircraft airworthiness, maintenance systems, and safety procedures.
A palm-sized drone flies through thick fog, artificial snow, and near-total darkness, dodging poles, transparent plastic sheets, and tree trunks without a single camera or laser. Its only guide is sound. Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute built the system, called Saranga, by copying the way bats find their way in caves. The result is a lightweight, low-power approach that keeps working when vision-based sensors simply stop.
Engineers at Northwestern University have built a small flying machine that fades from view by rotating faster than eyes can follow. Phantom Twist earns its name through a constant twist that turns solid parts into a soft smear against the sky or ground below.